the (missed) opportunity for workers’ rights

Despite the promises of Doha and FIFA, little changed in the lives of the workers who built the facilities and infrastructure. The abolition of the Kafala system and the problems of the application of the Reimbursement Plan. For many, months of uncertainty are approaching and issues remain unresolved. HRW: “a legacy of exploitation and shame.”

Milan () – Despite the announcements and promises that Doha and FIFA – the body that regulates international football – have announced in recent weeks about labor and human rights, now that the spotlights on the World Cup have gone out Qatar, little has changed for the migrants who built the facilities and infrastructure. For many activist organizations, the 2022 World Cup continues to be linked to abuses, deaths and violations of the rights of workers who come, for the most part, from South Asia, Southeast and Africa, and are subjected to systematic exploitation. Ironically, the competition ended on December 18 – with Argentina’s victory – with big announcements but few concrete actions to put an end to the violations, and that same day the United Nations celebrated International Migrants Day. “A curious coincidence – says Rothna Begum, an expert at Human Rights Watch (HRW) – taking into account not only the indispensable role that migrant workers played in preparing for the tournament, but also that they made possible the development of the World Cup in Qatar” . However, until “large-scale abuses are addressed”, all that will remain of the competition will be “a legacy of exploitation and shame”.

The battle of the numbers

An investigation by The Guardian, published a year before the tournament, denounced the death of at least 6,500 workers in the construction of the stadiums and during the days of the sporting event. Doha offers another version, as noted by the secretary general of the Organizing Committee Hassan al-Thawadi, according to which there were “between 400 and 500 deaths” in the 12 years of preparation. Even so, it is a much higher number than the “three deaths” long claimed by the Qatari authorities, who censored the allegations and tried to silence the (few) critical voices. Out of a population of nearly 2.6 million people, only 300,000 are full citizens, while the rest come from Asia and Africa. Of these, 20% of the total work in facilities and construction sites and the remaining majority do domestic work – waiters, service women, nannies, etc. – or the tertiary sector.

Labor from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka has carried out essential tasks not only in the construction of the eight stadiums but also in manning the stands, especially in the first games, when most of the the stands were empty due to low ticket sales. One of the countries that bought more tickets was India. However, in the final they quickly removed from the walls the portraits of the workers who contributed to the construction of the facilities (the Lusail Stadium) where the match was played. And very few of the 88,000 spectators who attended came from the Asian subcontinent. “For us it is very rare that we can move freely and celebrate like this,” Shafiq, originally from Kerala and dressed in an Argentina jersey, told AFP. “Normally – he went on to say – we are confined to the areas reserved for workers. We all wonder what will happen after the World Cup”.

Kafala system and rights

The issue of the rights of migrant workers was raised immediately after the award of the World Cup to Qatar 12 years ago, and then it was shelved for a long time due to the indifference of the international community, the protagonists of the event and the institutions in charge of the same. But then it became an extremely topical issue in the weeks leading up to the competition, with belated requests for players and stakeholders to take a stand. During the tournament the issue of migrants received unprecedented coverage. Migrants and their families were able to tell their stories of stolen wages, confiscated passports, death, violence, and a way of life that in many ways resembled a state of “modern slavery.”

It must be said that in recent years the country’s authorities have promoted a series of reforms introducing certain guarantees to protect migrants. Among them is the revision of the British colonial-era Kafala system, which was established before Qatar’s independence in 1971. Today it is possible to change jobs or leave the country – at least in theory – without the employer’s permission. Added to this is the creation of a “Universal Reimbursement Plan”, which will compensate immigrants who have had to pay “protection” or have been victims of extortion to get a job (with sums ranging between 1,000 and 5 thousand euros) or people who have not received the agreed salary. However, according to the activist movements, this latest reform has also arrived late and will not be very useful either, in addition to the fact that the numerous previous cases will go unpunished. The reimbursement system only started working in 2020, but it has only been applied to wage theft and access is fraught with obstacles. The case can spend several years in the courts before reaching a judgment and it is almost impossible to file the lawsuit once the workers have returned to their country of origin. In addition, the fund does not provide compensation for injuries, death in the workplace or wage theft in the decade prior to its creation.

An uncertain future

Since the abolition of the Kafala system, around 350,000 immigrants have been able to change jobs without suffering revenge or reprisals, which in the past could even go as far as confiscating their passports. In addition, for the first time it is possible to elect representatives throughout the Gulf region to defend workers’ rights in management committees and in disputes with employers. However, it should be noted that unions remain illegal, despite being authorized – with differences and limitations – in neighboring countries such as Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. According to Ruba Jaradat, deputy director general and regional director for the Arab countries of the ILO (International Labor Organization), the reforms in Qatar have been real and have had an impact on the modernization of the country, improving industry and the economy. In addition, the UN body – adds the expert – is negotiating the establishment of a permanent headquarters in Qatar and the countries of the region assure that the reforms will remain in force in the future, including the limitation of working hours in the summer months when It’s hot and the temperatures make working conditions extreme.

From this point of view, the allocation of the world championships would have brought more attention and a positive change. Today migrant workers can report abuses such as non-payment of wages to the Ministry of Labor. In theory, this is done anonymously, although there are documented cases of employees who have been paid with government intervention but were later identified by the company and fired. One of the most common infractions is deducting two days of salary in case one is absent. This is a frequent situation, especially when it is very hot with high percentages of humidity and the worker is disabled due to physical (or mental) fatigue. In the end, there is the feeling that Doha, with the World Cup, has put on a great show for the whole world to see, except for the immigrants who have contributed to making it possible.

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